{"id":15098,"date":"2026-08-24T13:10:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T13:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nextlevelnews.co.uk\/blog\/2026\/08\/24\/the-elder-scrolls-iv-oblivion-i-spent-44-hours-in-4-days-playing-it-in-bethesdas-basement\/"},"modified":"2026-08-24T13:10:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T13:10:00","slug":"the-elder-scrolls-iv-oblivion-i-spent-44-hours-in-4-days-playing-it-in-bethesdas-basement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextlevelnews.co.uk\/blog\/2026\/08\/24\/the-elder-scrolls-iv-oblivion-i-spent-44-hours-in-4-days-playing-it-in-bethesdas-basement\/","title":{"rendered":"The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion \u2013 I Spent 44 Hours in 4 Days Playing it in Bethesda’s Basement"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I imagine the Xbox stories I\u2019ve been sharing on IGN recently in the run-up to the brand\u2019s 25th anniversary probably seem a little ridiculous or even a bit crazy now \u2013 like how I got to be one of the first people to ever play through Halo 2 while playing in a storage closet at Bungie<\/u><\/a> \u2013 but I promise you it was all pretty normal back then. Today I have another one of those stories for you, and it\u2019s one of my favorite gaming memories of all time. It\u2019s about The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.<\/p>\n

If you were a gamer back when the Xbox 360 first came out, you\u2019ll remember how big a deal it was that the Xbox 360 was the first console of the \u201cHD Era,\u201d as the entire history of video games up to that point (at least on the console side \u2013 respect to my fellow PC gamers who\u2019d been 1024×768\u2019ing it for years by then). Finally we were moving from 640×480 (interlaced, to boot) to 1280×720. It sounds quaint now, but it was a huge <\/em>leap at the time. The 360 had gotten off to a fast start in November of 2005 thanks to the likes of Call of Duty 2, Project Gotham Racing 3, and then a couple months later, the jaw-dropping<\/u><\/a> Fight Night Round 3. But there was one game we were all anticipating far more than any other in the 360\u2019s first months: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. It was supposed to be a day-one launch title for the new Xbox, but it got delayed<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n

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I was personally and professionally so excited for this game, as it seemed like my ultimate medieval fantasy RPG come to life. And so I\u2019d spearheaded Official Xbox Magazine\u2019s coverage throughout 2005; I think I made at least two trips out to Bethesda Game Studios in Maryland that year as excitement for the game and the console built. The studio had already won a lot of console-gamer fans through its 2002 original Xbox port of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, but this time, Oblivion was readied as a day-one Xbox 360 game, simultaneous to its PC launch. And what I had seen on those trips \u2013 translated into feature stories in OXM \u2013 had only fueled my hype even more. The stunning graphics, the incredible music, the \u201cliving\u201d NPCs who had daily routines they\u2019d go through whether you were around or not \u2013 it all felt like it was coalescing into something truly special.<\/p>\n

I spent roughly 11 hours per day living in Cyrodiil without having to think about anything else.<\/section>\n

So when it finally came time to review Oblivion, OXM was once again able to secure the exclusive review. Combined with the lead times necessitated by magazine publishing schedules, it meant that I found myself back at Bethesda in January of 2006 to review Oblivion, which shipped in March. Everyone knew it\u2019d be a big game \u2013 Morrowind most certainly was \u2013 and so the plan was to spend four days at Bethesda and play as much as I possibly could. When I arrived at the studio, I was brought down to the basement floor, I said hello (again) to Todd Howard, and then I was escorted into a glass-walled conference room. There I had a giant TV at one end of the room, my chair and an Xbox 360 dev kit at the other end of the room, and a controller on the table. And then everyone else left.<\/p>\n

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My mission was to get as many hours under my belt as I could before heading home to write the review for the magazine. My hotel was literally next door to Bethesda\u2019s office, so I wouldn\u2019t even have to spend time getting to and from the studio. Food was ordered in for me, and I took short breaks and ate right in the conference room. It was just me and the archer\/thief I\u2019d created for 44 hours over four days. Yes, I spent roughly 11 hours per day living in Cyrodiil without having to think about anything else: no other work, no other responsibilities. It was amazing, and one of the best gaming experiences of my life. <\/p>\n

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I explored, I fought, I snuck, I stole, I joined the Dark Brotherhood, I closed a whole bunch of Oblivion Gates, and yes, I made sure to complete the main story questline. I even found, tamed, and rode a unicorn in the forest. The worst part of all of this was twofold: one, having to stop. And two, having to start over once the final retail copies of the game arrived. But as a testament to how incredible that game was (and thankfully still is, thanks to last year\u2019s great remaster<\/u><\/a>), I put another 125-plus hours into it at home in March, soaking in every DLC and expansion that dropped after launch. (I gave Oblivion a 9.5 out of 10 in OXM, if you\u2019re curious.)<\/p>\n

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The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion was arguably the defining moment of the first months of the HD Era and a true killer app for the Xbox 360 \u2013 you had to buy the console so you wouldn\u2019t miss out on this game. And if you\u2019ve made it this far, I\u2019ll bet you\u2019ve got lots of great memories of this one too. Here\u2019s hoping that The Elder Scrolls 6 can recapture at least some of that magic.<\/p>\n

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